Into the Negative Zone
by The Lilac Pilgrim
Summary: Thrown into the world of Brawl, Snake is determined to just keep surviving until he can figure out how to leave. However, meeting a certain green-wearing plumber has him confused. Why does the man have such a strong hold on him? Snake/Luigi. Yes, really.
1. Unfamiliar Territory

**Disclaimer**: _I do not own Luigi, I don't own Snake, I don't own Super Smash Bros Brawl. I'm not David Hayter or Charles Martinet. I don't work for Nintendo and mean the company no harm with what I write. On with the crack fic_.

* * *

What appeared to be a large, pink ball with eyes devoured Captain Falcon right before him. Spitting the pilot out, the ball appeared to adopt the familiar helmet and shuffled quickly towards a tall-ish, moustachioed man who seemed awfully reluctant to fight. Crouching on the ledge above, the soldier frowned. He hadn't gone unnoticed. Far from it; the fighters had all had a go at knocking him off the stage below after he had been so unceremoniously dropped into battle; the good captain was his favourite for this one as he threw Falcon punches and kicks and whatever else in his brash, shouting manner, all dodged too easily by all three of his opponents. Too slow, those attacks were. Having managed to get away from the others, however, Snake now looked down as they attempted to connect blows with one another, the Captain haphazardly kicking his way across the stage, the man with the moustache flailing wildly, and that peculiar pink thing sucking up the others whenever what he assumed was a copy ability wore off.

"Otacon, what _is_ that thing?" he growled, leaping onto the opposite ledge as Captain Falcon seemed to notice him again and proceeded to join him above the others.

"_That's Kirby,_" came the quick reply as the soldier barely managed to grab a hold of the ledge he'd jumped for. Pulling himself up quickly, he looked back at the Captain, who seemed determined to give chase. "_He's from another planet, in other words, an extraterrestrial. He's got a powerful stomach that lets him swallow and digest anything._"

"Huh. So that's why he's been eating the others," he mused, hurling a grenade at the Captain. Bouncing off the other competitor's head, it exploded, though somehow the man stayed perfectly intact. Despite his untouched appearance, Falcon yelled in pain and fell onto the stage below and was promptly swallowed up by the pink ball he now knew to be Kirby. Once ejected, he became the first target of a copied Falcon Punch, and though he knew he shouldn't, Snake couldn't help but let out a bemused chuckle at the high-pitched sound of the puff ball's '_Fal-cawn BAHNCH_!'

"_It gets better,_" Otacon continued as the soldier jumped back over to the platform he'd been crouching on. "_He also has a copy ability - oh, but by the sounds of things you already know that, huh?_" Snake smiled in spite of himself.

"Yeah; he keeps inhaling Captain Falcon," he murmured, watching the moustached one throw himself at the newly recovered pilot like a torpedo. That couldn't be safe… or practical. "I'm not sure he likes the captain too much."

A soft laugh could be heard only by the crouching soldier.

"_Or maybe he likes the power of the Falcon Punch._"

With a wry grin, Snake replied; "_We should do that thing we always wanted to try._"

There was a short pause as he seemed to confuse his friend, but before he had time to explain, the scientist's brain caught up with him.

"_Oh yeah! That thing! Good idea! OK, ready?_"

Jumping down behind the abused captain, he pulled his arm back, reay to carry out his little experiment on a man he so admired.

"Falcon Puuuuunch!" he yelled, thrusting his fist into the startled captain's face. A shining ball floated around within his eye line but he didn't understand its significance or why there was a hushed 'oooooooh!' sound as the other two chased frantically after it. "_Falcon Kiiiiiick_!" Otacon yelled, punctuating the soldier's next move as it took the pilot by surprise. Suddenly, there was a smashing sound and both the soldier and the captain looked over at the source of the noise. From his place writhing on the floor, Falcon whimpered 'Oh God, _no_!' as a glow enveloped the moustached man. Snake had no time to ask what in the hell that glow was. As soon as it had come over the stranger it seemed to expand out from him in a sphere, causing everything within his influence to become oddly-coloured. The other fighters fell soundly asleep. Unsure of what was going on, Snake stepped forward to apprehend the man, who was dancing in such a hypnotic fashion… and promptly fell flat on his face. That was odd (not to mention embarrassing) - he wasn't usually so clumsy. The pink puff ball was kicked off into the distance while the soldier tried to get back up, only to fall right back down again. The captain was the next to go, screaming as he was also launched into the sky. Finally, the moustached one approached him, smiling shyly as he came to stand over the tumbling mercenary.

"Welcome to _Brawl_," he spoke softly in a European - Italian? - accent. Before Snake could respond, the man scuffed him sheepishly with his foot, somehow launching him instantly upwards until the stage below was nothing but a dot.

* * *

Unlimited boxes. That was a strange thing to be reassured that you had. After being made to stand staring at the moustached winner of the brawl (announced as Luigi), the soldier had been led away by two small robots and shown to a suite despite repeatedly telling them that he did not belong in this weird place. All they seemed to be able to say was that he would have all the boxes he desired and that his next brawl took place on the Shadow Moses Island stage. He wondered if they had understood his protests at all. He'd have broken free if he could have figure out how; they were surprisingly strong and had been so very determined to drag him to this… very nice suite.

Now as he sat in the corner of the bathroom where it was cool, he found that all he could think about was that hypnotic dance he had been treated to. He Didn't want to be thinking about it. A man that overweight shouldn't have been so… flexible. The thought just kept distracting him. Over and over again he played the dance in his head; it was so odd, so exotic, so _sensual_. But he knew he shouldn't be thinking that way, not about this man he knew nothing about. Yet, anyway. He had asked Otacon before the robots accosted him to find out about that fighter. When asked why him specifically, he didn't say. Rather, he didn't want to say, not to Otacon. It would mean admitting it to himself first, something he knew he couldn't do. Rather than pushing the issue, however, the scientist had promised him some information within the hour. Two hours later and he was still replaying that damned dance in his mind…

"_Snake? what's going on? Snake? SNAAAAAAAAAKKKKKEEEEEE_!"

Snapped back to reality, the soldier jumped as he realised that he was being spoken to. Loudly. In his ear.

"Wha- Hey! Alright, alright! I'm here; no need to yell," he growled, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Did you find anything out?"

The scientist sounded less than impressed, making a couple of spluttering sounds before apparently thinking better of whatever it was he was going to say and clearing his throat.

"_Yeah, I did… The man you fought was Luigi, better known as the green-wearing twin of the brothers Mario._"

For a moment, Snake was silent. Mario, now that did ring a bell. In fact… wasn't that a… game?

"Wait," he said, scratching the back of his head. "You mean.. Like 'Super Mario'?"

"_Yes, Snake. He's pretty powerful in this place; he even has his own stage which…_"

He was torn between amusement and bewilderment. So he had the chance to meet Mario, huh? He shouldn't have been quite so accepting of the concept, but then he'd already performed a pretty impressive Falcon Punch on the famous Captain Falcon. A punch he'd been quite proud of, actually. If only he'd had a camera; that would have been epic. Since he'd already met the pilot, any other gaming icons involved in this world shouldn't come as too much of a shock to the system. And he had already met the lesser-known brother Luigi, who had always been his favourite anyway. Mario hadn't much of a personality when it came down to it but Luigi was something special… Wait, why did he think that? It was true… but he didn't need to think about it that way. He didn't need to qualify his liking of the guy as 'something special'. No, he was thinking too hard on that; he wasn't all _that_ special. Just a plumber who happened to do some extraordinary things. Just a recolour of his older brother. Nothing remarkable. He shouldn't think too deeply about him - _it_. Especially when he was probably going to be pitted against him again anyway. He could go easy on him, show him that he cared - no, not cared, respected. He had a respect for Luigi, that was all. Nothing more than that…

"_Snake?_" The soldier looked up as though expecting Otacon to be standing over him, looking concerned. Discovering himself to still be in the cool, dark bathroom, he grunted softly.

"Sorry; I got… distracted," he offered lamely.

"_That's not like you, Snake. You must have been affected pretty badly by Luigi, huh?_"

With a low, aggravated 'ugh', the soldier gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it," he admitted, the image of the dancing plumber returning to him, teasing him. Mocking him. Otacon gave a heavy, tired sounding sigh.

"_Well, rest up. You might be there for a while_," the man yawned, though Snake was only half listening. "_Keep us posted, Snake._"

Long after Otacon had given up waiting for a response, the mercenary murmured 'uh, yeah, sure' before finally giving in to the hypnotic dancing, repeating over and over in his mind and seeping into his dreams as he reluctantly found himself drifting off to sleep on the clean tiled floor where he sat. He would later chalk his tiredness up to the likelihood that he was kidnapped from whatever he'd been doing prior to being dumped into that battle. He'd have to remember to talk to someone about that. Though, if he had anything to do with it, there wouldn't be much talking involved.

* * *

_Note: Subsequent chapters will hopefully be longer... Cross-posted to LJ, as there's a little comm in need of fic_


	2. Plagued

Author's Note: Hahaha, thanks for the review, emmy. I'm still trying to decide whether this story should come off as bizarre comedic crack or angsty bizarre comedic crack but either way it's still SSB fic. I'm also not the first (and hopefully won't be the last) to pair these two - Solitary Shadow, for example, pairs them in a much fluffier way than I do. Do go read her friendship fic, Within the Cardboard Box. It's so fluffy that by the end you'll be screaming "Just do each other already!" Anywho, please try to enjoy the rest of the story. I know I'm enjoying writing it. (And thank you so much Solitary Shadow for reviewing ^_^ hope you enjoy chapter two)

* * *

Otacon's concerned scream woke him on what the soldier assumed was the next morning. People really had to stop doing that. A low growl warned the scientist that he was still alive and not really happy with the situation he'd been thrown into, or indeed the constant worried screeching. It was truly a wonder that he wasn't deaf.

"_Sorry, Snake,_" Otacon offered as his roused friend moved to crouch on the floor. It wasn't exactly a difficult manoeuvre since he'd fallen asleep on the once-cold (now slightly-warm and slobber-slicked) bathroom tile, and he made sure his back was facing against the wall as he scanned the room from his safe position. "_I thought… Never mind; I have some more information for you._"

Softly groaning, Snake shook his head. He knew - or was making wild guesses at in his mind - what Otacon had thought. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the sentiment behind the worry, but surely Hal knew him well enough by now? Of course, in hindsight, perhaps that was why he was so worried. Hearing footsteps in the corridor, he stayed alert, poised to be able to dash immediately should he need to get out of there fast. "What have you got for me?"

"_Well, I looked up some information about the stages - that's where you're made to fight - and it looks like whoever runs this place is able to copy locations the players have visited before._"

"What? Like they can get into my head?" Snake scowled. He didn't like the sound of that. If, somehow, they could read his thoughts and memories, how was he to know that they wouldn't happily give that information away? If they could, he definitely wasn't safe here. After all, he still didn't know who was running the show, and the more he thought about it, the less he liked that fact.

"_It seems likely._" Otacon's tone was grim. "_In fact, a new stage appeared while you were sleeping. I've had a look at the files and… well, it's a pretty good copy._"

"By a new stage, you mean a location _I've_ visited," the soldier stated, hearing the footsteps approach. Whoever it was outside was clearly excitable, and definitely small. In fact, it sounded like more than one. Midget guards? That was… unusual. Though Snake couldn't see it, Otacon nodded.

"_Yeah. The new stage is called Shadow Moses Island._"

There was a brief silence as the news sank in. Those robots had said something the night before about the next brawl, and now that he thought about it he was sure he had heard the name Shadow Moses Island being mentioned, but he had been far too distracted to think about it then. The _dancing_… So alluring…

Rubbing his forehead as though that would rid him of the thought, he sighed. This wasn't the right time to think about that. There was no right time to stop and think about that _dancing_.

"I remember… the robots. They said something about the stage. I guess I wasn't listening."

Otacon made a gentle 'huh' sound. Snake's eyes narrowed. Was he suspicious of something? Because he had been focusing on trying to escape from the oddly powerful little robots, that was all. Nothing else had occupied his mind at the time. _Nothing._ Just escape. He didn't belong in whatever this was, and he was sure the others knew that… although… he had been welcomed by the plumber. Who he most definitely hadn't been thinking about when he first heard about the stage.

"_Well, luckily, I don't think anyone else we know is there with you,_" the scientist said carefully. That was slightly comforting. If Snake was the only one there, then maybe this was all just a mistake. Didn't help the fact that they seemed able to read his mind and just recreate horrible memories as and when they pleased. "_The stage doesn't appear to be anything other than that; a stage. Parts of the stage can crumble but other than that it doesn't look like any kind of trap. I'll try to find out more before they take you there to brawl._"

"What?" The soldier was not pleased. "You mean I have to go to that stage?"

"_Look Snake, I don't like it any more than you do, but I figure we'll find out more about this place if you just… go with the flow. Get into a few brawls, check out the action first hand. Until I know more about what's going on I won't be able to get you out of there._"

Before he could start throwing frustrated insults back at his so-called friend, his suite door burst open. He hadn't even managed to make it to a standing position when two small, parka-wearing _children_ bounced in, giggling and wielding hammers. _So they weren't midget guards? _The pink one clapped and both grabbed his arms, dragging and pulling him towards the door and out into the corridor. Bystanders didn't do anything to help him out of the grasps of these two surprisingly strong kids, and humiliation quickly set in as they showed no signs of stopping and quite happily dragged him all the way around what seemed to be a massive apartment block. Hotel? More like a hotel. If he'd noticed his surroundings instead of trying to shake the children loose, he may have taken into account the décor.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of being pulled around, occasional witnesses greeting the shamed mercenary with 'welcome, Solid/Snake/bro', he was finally dumped in front of some sort of disembodied hand. _This can't be right…_

Almost huffily, Snake got to his feet and brushed himself off. The giant hand contorted itself into a bizarre thumbs up and spoke in a rumbling voice; "**Welcome to Brawl, Solid Snake!**"

The children clapped before disappearing into some sort of teleporter.

An awkward silence fell over the two.

Snake's codec beeped.

"_Snake, what happened there?_" came the demanding voice of Roy Campbell. Confused more than anything, the soldier continued to stare at the large gloved hand.

"These two kids; kids with hammers," he said, feeling as though he might go irreversibly mad. Well… moreso than usual. "And now a giant white hand. Please tell me this is all some sort of practical joke."

"_No joke, Snake,_" the colonel replied, which shattered the mercenary's favourite explanation for the insane goings-on. "_That giant hand is Master Hand, if the schedules are correct. He guides the R.O.B.s in scheduling battles and selects players from a vast number of locations._"

_Finally, I might be getting somewhere,_ he thought, his eyes still focused on the hand, which was still in its thumbs-up pose. "So you're saying I might get some information from this guy?"

"_If you're lucky. Be careful, Snake; though he's the master of Brawl, he's not above getting his hands dirty in battle, too. Er, figuratively speaking._"

Snake gave a wry smile. The potential for humour was too much to pass up, even for the colonel. "Right. I'll keep you posted, Colonel." With that, one conversation ended. Now to start another. Anticipating a battle, he approached carefully, an amused grin still playing around his lips.

"Was wondering if you could give me a hand," he started, addressing the giant gloved figure with no hint of irony in his voice. "I need to get out of here. I think you've got the wrong Snake."

The hand unfurled and floated fluidly towards him, the fingertips grazing his belt. He wasn't sure he liked that sensation.

"**You are the right Snake. The audience demanded you for battle.**"

Snake felt uneasy as the voice seemed to come from all around, rather than from the hand. Where was the mouth on this guy? There was an audience involved? He couldn't say he'd noticed it in the first battle… but it did explain the muffled sounds of wonder that came out of nowhere. Trying not to overthink it, the soldier aimed his steely gaze at the wrist of the hand, attempting to show he meant business.

"Look, I'm not some toy for you to - hey, wait!"

Barely able to protest, Snake struggled as the giant hand gripped onto him and lifted him with ease. Swinging him around, he imagined it was going to smash him into a wall. All this for a stupid brawl? As the hand swung back round, however, it released its grip and sent him flying into the teleporter the children had disappeared through earlier. There was a bright flash and he felt himself sucked upwards.

Landing on some sort of ledge, he realised he'd reached his destination. With his face barely an inch from the ground. Quickly, he pulled himself into a standing position and studied his surroundings. _Son of a bitch…_ It brought back memories, unpleasant ones, painful ones, the kinds of memories which should have been left well enough alone. What if Otacon was wrong and someone else was here? What could such a person find out if they found this stage? This was bad. This was very bad.

On the ledge across from him stood the two children who'd accosted him earlier. He couldn't help but feel a certain sort of distaste for them, and he growled in spite of himself. Looking down, he saw some kind of pet monkey wielding what appeared to be wooden pistols. Three opponents, just like last time. Crouching, he activated his codec and waited; maybe there was more info on the new fighters. As he did so, a voice shouted: '**Ready? Go!**' He heard shuffling below and at first assumed it to be the monkey, who had enthusiastically bounced forward as soon as the word 'go' had sounded, but when the creature disappeared beneath him, he realised something. There was another fighter below him.

"_Snake, it's Otacon,_" the somewhat comforting voice of his friend called to him as he watched the two children follow the monkey. "_What's happening?_"

"I've been thrown into another one of these brawls," he responded bitterly, thinking on how literal that statement was. "I'm fighting _kids_ this time. Two kids in snow jackets and a monkey. That can't be right, can it?"

"_Hold on; I'm just pulling up the stats on the fighters you described…_"

Almost as soon as Otacon had finished speaking, he heard a cry of pain and saw the fourth fighter tumble out into the middle of the stage below, a green-clad moustachioed gentleman. An exclamation mark appeared above his head. Oh yes, very funny. Irritated, he swiped at the air above his head as though he could physically grab the punctuation mark and throw it. A groan escaped him as the memory of the exotic dance flashed into his mind once more. Why did he have to fight this guy again?

"_Okay, the children are Popo and Nana, better known as the Ice Climbers._" Otacon's voice brought him back to reality, for which the soldier was thankful. "_They may be small but they're really strong, and you'll never find one without the other._" Snake chuckled.

"They don't look so tough," he said, watching them tumble out after the plumber, looking dazed.

"_Yeah, well I wouldn't underestimate them; they've conquered dangerous mountaintops together. I think they could easily give you a run for your money._"

"Right. Sure." The soldier shook his head. Like two children were going to do him much damage. Chirping and screeching wildly, the monkey scampered out after the kids and started whipping them with his tail. "So what about the chimp in the hat?"

"_The monkey is Diddy Kong; he uses a variety of weapons, including a pair of peanut popguns - and he's an excellent shot._"

"Peanuts?" Snake's expression contorted into one of confusion and bewilderment. "As in those things in the little shells? Are you serious?"

"_It gets better,_" Otacon reassured him, sounding amused. "_If you find one on the ground, eat it. It'll restore some of your health._"

"Hmm. Every cloud, huh?" He shook his head in disbelief. The more he learned, the less he seemed to know. Looking down at he stage below, he couldn't help but smile as the plumber finally rose to his feet and threw a green fireball at Diddy Kong. He didn't know why, but he was sort of pleased that the guy was okay. It meant he could get him back for kicking him off the stage last time.

"_Snake, is there anyone else you're fighting today?_" his friend asked, dragging him back out of his thoughts. The Ice Climbers looked up at his ledge and grinned, bouncing on the frazzled monkey to try and reach him. Ugh, not again…

"Er, yeah, Luigi again," he said as he jumped to avoid the hammer attack of the pink-clad ice climber. Somehow he found himself jumping right through the ceiling onto another section of the stage. That was an odd experience, but as long as he was away from those brats he wasn't complaining.

"_Ah, so you're all set. Keep us posted, Snake._"

For a brief moment it seemed pretty calm up on the top part of the stage, though he could hear suspicious noises coming through the wall to his left. Looking to the right, he saw there was no wall, and he could just barely see the outlines of thousands of spectators. What kind of sick gladiatorial practise was this? He didn't have any time to think on that as two powerful blows hit him in the back, winding him and causing him to collapse. _What the -?_

Looking up, he saw the Ice Climbers, grinning and waving at him. _Lucky hits…_ Reaching for two grenades, he frantically pulled out the pins and leapt up, thrusting each grenade into the hoods of the two children. It didn't feel right, planting explosives on two cute little kids, but if he remembered rightly, Captain Falcon had been miraculously left in one piece after his encounter with the explosives. As he tumbled away from the pair, he heard two cries of pain as the grenades went off. Reluctantly, he looked back at the pair and was almost relieved to find that they looked intact, just dazed. Without warning, the monkey bounced through the floor and grabbed him by the neck. Desperately, he struggled to break free, though the little guy was strong and showed no sign of letting him go any time soon. Beat up by two kids and a monkey. How humiliating. Just as he managed to get a hold on the annoying creature's shoulder, the plumber burst through the floor. Launching himself at the Ice Climbers, he sent the pink one flying, leaving the other one without his partner. Good, now they had an advantage. Er, _he_ had an advantage. For now, Snake had to focus on getting free.

Quickly rummaging around for any different weapons he may have been given, he almost laughed with delight upon finding the C4, and he planted it easily on the monkey's back. Detonating it immediately, he managed to rise to a standing position as the explosion caused Diddy Kong to fall away, dazed but somehow without any evidence of ever being blown up. This place was weird. Did they have to censor the violence for the audience? He supposed it sort of made sense if there were kids out there…

Hearing a scream, the soldier looked up to find that the plumber had managed to throw the other kid off the stage. At first he thought he might have killed them, but then remembered - he was still brawling. Which simply raised even more questions, and with the green one approaching him at an alarming speed he had no time to start thinking about that now. Luckily for him, the monkey leapt up in a fit of rage and grabbed the nearest opponent, who just so happened to be Luigi. As they squabbled, there was an awe-struck 'oh' sound and that weird floating ball appeared. He touched a hand to his ear and waited for a response.

"_Otacon here._"

"Otacon, that floating ball, what is it?" he asked urgently as the other two broke free from one another to chase it.

"_That's a smash ball,_" the scientist replied as though that should be enough explanation. Growling, Snake watched as the monkey whacked it hard, causing it to crack.

"Right. So what does it do?"

"_Break it and you'll find out,_" came the simple response. "_Ever had a devastating attack you always wanted to perform_?"

Though he didn't understand the relevance, Snake mulled over the question for a moment. The plumber kicked the ball, causing it to crack further.

"Yeah… yeah, I guess I have…" _A grenade launcher would be pretty awesome right about now_. He grinned at the idea. Where would he get one of those?

"_Well go after the ball. Quickly; before one of the others gets it._"

Consumed by curiosity, the mercenary leapt after the erratically floating ball as it manoeuvred upwards away from the monkey and the plumber and swiped at it. The plumber jumped up at the same moment and slammed right into him, winding him for the second time that brawl and costing him the ball. Though Snake ended up dazed on the stage below, the plumber launched himself off of the soldier's chest and gave the ball a final whack. That same glow came over him again and a devious smile emerged on his face. Diddy Kong let out a feral shriek of terror before attempting to escape, but Luigi was too quick. Grabbing the annoying animal's tail, he came to stand next to the soldier and started his dance. For whatever reason, Snake found himself eager to taunt the others. Yeah, he'd show them! Making his right hand into a fist, he reached for something with his left hand. _This'll… huh?_ he thought dully as a darkness fell over him. Standing up again beyond his own control, the box he'd been sitting in fell from him and sent the monkey screaming off the stage. A… box? How did you taunt someone with a box? Unable to help himself, he pulled out another box from freaking _nowhere _and dragged himself under it. Almost immediately, the box was lifted from him and the smiling face of Luigi greeted him.

"Hello!" he said jovially, throwing the box aside. "Nice to see you again!"

"What… what are you doing to me?" Snake reached for another damned box. What was this; some kind of joke? The moustached man scratched the back of his head sheepishly and knocked the item out of the soldier's hands.

"It'll wear off," was the mumbled reply, though it didn't answer the question. Snake opened his mouth to argue, but was promptly cut off as Luigi scuffed him as he had before, sending him flying upwards. Helplessly, he looked down at the stage and allowed himself to be thrown into the air. How did he do that?

* * *

"_But I already gave you all my information about Luigi_!"

Snake scowled, slamming the bathroom door shut. After the battle, he'd once again been made to stand clapping as Luigi rejoiced, his hands formed into finger pistols as he made a meek 'bang bang!' noise. He'd kept his back turned; facing him and the audience cheering him on was unbearable. Defeated by an exotic dancer plumber, a monkey and two small children. Possibly his most humiliating battle yet.

"There has to be more!" he growled, throwing himself into a sitting position on the tiles, which he noticed had been scrubbed while he'd been brawling. "Does he have any special technology, any weird mind control gadgets?"

"_Mind control gadgets?_" Otacon repeated incredulously. "_Snake, he's a _plumber_._"

"Otacon, I'm telling you; there's something about that guy and I can't put my finger on it." He had to have some sort of mind control technology, something interfering with his brain that was causing him all this grief. He'd near enough admitted it himself, after all. '_It'll wear off'_ he'd said. So why wasn't it? Surely whatever he'd done to him would have worn off by now. The fight was over and Luigi had no use for him. So why was he still thinking about the plumber and his excellent exotic dancing? "Are you sure you didn't miss anything out? Are you sure you told me everything you know?"

"_Pretty sure,_" the scientist insisted, sighing. A brief pause followed. "_I'll keep looking and get back to you. But I still think you're being overly-dramatic. Luigi's just a plumber, after all. There are worse opponents out there, and you will face them._"

A low, irritated groan told Otacon that it was time to end this conversation, and he did so with another '_keep us posted_'. That was turning into his catchphrase. Maybe next time he said it, Snake would chant along.

Sighing, he wondered how bad these other opponents were if they had the power to do things that were worse than mind control. Sure, he'd encountered some terrible things and people in his time - a thought that was understating the severity of the incidents - but if this Luigi was able to control his mind there was no telling what could happen here in such unfamiliar territory.

Someone padded along the corridor and passed his door suspiciously slowly. He heard a snarling 'huh…' as whoever it was went by, their steps heavy. Though they weren't stomping, it seemed the floor shook ever so slightly. None of this registered with Snake, however, as he was too busy replaying that damned dance in his head. Even the hunger pangs growing in intensity didn't distract him from the thought. He had to know just what it was that kept the plumber in his mind, and fast. This place would not win.


	3. Dealing With The Problem

**Author's Note:** Thanks once more for the lovely reviews. I'm so pleased that people are enjoying the fic as I've been worried about the pacing and the characterisation. Please do hit me if I slip up; it's the only way I'll learn. This is the chapter where I get even more worried as Snake… well, you'll see what he does if you read it. Don't worry though; it's all leading up to a lovely finish, even if poor Otacon (who is totally Snake's canon lover) has to lose out. Poor, poor Otacon. Snake will leave the bathroom. Not of his own accord, though.

* * *

Snake was relieved to be awake at five in the morning. Having discovered there was a working (and, he assumed, accurate) alarm clock in what he gathered was his bedroom, he had since migrated in order to take advantage of it. Without a concept of time in this place, he feared he might first go mad, but it seemed that wasn't their intention. Plus, being awake before Otacon meant no more screaming in his ear, so there was another plus. They were small victories, but they made the third day (it was the third day, wasn't it?) slightly more liveable and less confusing than the last two. When his codec beeped this time, he was ready for it, and he crouched behind the plush-looking bed, grinning triumphantly.

"_Snake, it's Otacon_," the scientist said while the mercenary mouthed along, accurately matching every syllable. "_How are you holding up_?"

"I'm fine; surviving," Snake growled, watching the door carefully. Now there was only one door between him and any possible attacker, and he couldn't afford to let his guard down. "Have you got that information for me yet?"

There was an irritated sigh. Snake frowned. Surely he wasn't asking too much of his friend?

"_Sorry, Snake, but no. I haven't had the chance to do much research on the fighters; I've been taking a look at the layout of the hotel_."

So it was a hotel. Though 'hotel' sort of indicated being able to check out whenever he wanted. So why hadn't he been given the option? What lousy customer service. Snarling as whoever had been outside his room the previous night padded by again, pausing just outside, he rose into a crouching position and quietly made his way towards the door.

"_It all seems pretty basic_," Otacon continued as the soldier noticed the peephole in the centre of the door. How long had that been there? Carefully, he rose enough to be able to see through, but all he could see of the other person was a shock of red hair. "_More than thirty five rooms, a pool, a gym - the stages are even accessible when there are no brawls. During those times, they function as their proper locations._"

"Which means that Shadow Moses will be, too, right?" The thought made him shudder rather uncharacteristically.

"_Well, I've had a look, and it seems to be abandoned. Nothing happens there when brawls aren't taking place. Even the Metal Gears disappear_."

"Wait a minute; there were Metal Gears on that stage?" Snake was horrified. So when he was there he had to fight his opponents and a series of walking deathmobiles too? Otacon hesitated.

"_Only two_," he said carefully as Snake strained to see who was on the other side of the door. "_But don't worry; I noticed that in battle, they just… watch. They don't do anything else._"

Taking a break from people-watching, the soldier pinched the bridge of his nose as though trying to relieve a headache, almost hoping that it would dispel the confusion this whole situation was piling onto him. There was a replica of Shadow Moses, but it was derelict. There were Metal Gears present, but they were just accessories. What was the point in that, other than to renew his post-traumatic stress? Did whoever built the stage think anyone else was going to get the references? While he thought over the situation, the person outside took exactly two steps closer. Alarmed, Snake looked through the peephole again, straight into the tawny eye of a large male.

For a second, the soldier wondered if the man could actually see him through the lens, as his stare was intense and fixed. However, it soon became clear that the stranger couldn't actually see in from outside as he squinted and growled, pressing himself against the door as though that would help satiate his curiosity. Quirking an eyebrow, Snake sighed with relief. Otacon, who had been whispering things along the lines of 'Snake? What's happening? Snaaaaake?' exasperatedly huffed; "_What's wrong, Snake_?"

"There's someone out there," he murmured, watching carefully as the red-headed man cupped a hand to his face as though blocking out the light would help. "I can see him through the peephole."  
"_Oh? What does he look like? Maybe I can get some info on him for you_." The mercenary squinted to see, though the shadowy figure seemed to be doing his best to fit through the lens eye-first. Frowning, he growled in response:

"It's hard to see; he keeps smooshing his face up against the door." For a brief moment, the stranger pulled back and turned away, arms folded moodily. "But it's definitely a guy, and he's got red hair."

"_Hmm. That could be a lot of people_," the scientist pointed out. Snake almost wished his friend could see him rolling his eyes. "_Anything else you can make out_?"

"He looks like he's wearing some kind of armour…" The inquisitive eye returned, the red eyebrow that belonged to it conveying a fraction of a frustrated scowl. "…it's really hard to tell."

"_You know, Snake,_" Otacon started cautiously, listening to the aggravated huffing sounds coming from beyond the door. "_You could always just… open the door._"

Snake froze as the revelation pieced itself together in his mind. Open the door… that was always a possibility. Quickly, like he was ripping off a band-aid, the soldier opened the door and fixed a steely gaze upon the tall, flame-haired gentleman behind it. The stocky, tanned stranger glared back with what could generously be called a smile. After what must have been five entire seconds, Snake inquired; "Can I help you?"

A rumble of laughter echoed slightly in the corridor.

"I was wondering when you were going to show your face outside of that room," came the response in a sneering tone that made the soldier bristle with annoyance. Not just annoyance… fear. He felt as though millions of tiny insects were moving around just beneath his skin; this guy was giving off a pretty strong negative vibe. He hoped this encounter wasn't going to last very long…

"Who the hell are you?" he snarled, attempting to look somewhat intimidating. It only served to amuse the man further, and he laughed again; a soft, self-satisfied rumble.

"My name is Ganondorf," he helpfully announced, leading Otacon to exclaim 'oh!' rather excitedly. "Welcome to Brawl, boy."

"Boy?" Snake was unimpressed, and certainly didn't take too kindly to being addressed as 'boy'. Before he had the chance to rip into the stranger, the scientist piped up.

"_Ganondorf is dangerous! His ambition is to rule the world, and he has the power to do it,_" he hastily informed the mercenary, voice wavering slightly. "_Where he's from, they call him the King of Evil._"

Hesitantly, Snake looked the so-called "King" up and down. Though it pained him to admit it, the freak definitely looked strong. Recalling how the Ice Climbers came to drag him out of his room for their brawl, he was beginning to hope that the King of Evil wasn't here for similar purposes.

"Was that all? Or was there something else?" He wanted dearly to keep his distance, to slam the door in his face and go back to crouching in the corner but it looked as though if this guy wanted him, he wasn't going to give up that easily. The other smiled wider, folding his arms across his chest.

"I just wanted to see what was so special about you," he drawled, looking rather uninterested now he'd seen the soldier in person. "We brawl tomorrow evening, on the Halberd. Now that I see you, I have no reservations. And they made such a fuss about acquiring you." He shrugged then and turned away. Snake felt he looked pretty pleased with himself at the prospect of beating him up. Would he even survive a brawl with this guy? "But I am feeling generous today. Perhaps you should come out of your hiding place and take a look around. Get to know your challengers. I guarantee by the end of the month you will have met them all in combat. Assuming, that is, you survive your next."

With that and a grin that could only be described as evil, Ganondorf turned away, his curiosity quite obviously satiated enough. The second he turned the corner, Snake and Otacon heaved a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"_You should count yourself lucky, Snake_," Otacon murmured, sounding as though he was recovering from a terrible nightmare. "_If he'd wanted to, he could have fought you then and there._"

"Do I even have a chance against him?" The encounter had put a sizeable dent in the soldier's confidence, and his first thought was to run back into the bathroom and wait until Otacon had figured out how he could leave. Even the very slight pause the engineer gave made the mercenary anxious.

"_Er, well, look at it this way_," he finally piped up, his tone suspiciously bright. "_There are loads of other people here fighting with swords and arrows and their bare hands, but you have firepower on your side! Who else here has grenades, right?_"

Snake gave a growl in reluctant agreement.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, though he still wasn't convinced. He wouldn't be able to tell until he fought the guy after all, and the more the thought about it, the less appealing the idea was. The hostility poured from him in waves, like a cascading waterfall and even with his heavy armour, those muscles were unmistakably large. Though he had only seen (and heard) him walking, it seemed as though he could be deceptively skillful. Even with Otacon's reassurance, he wasn't sure there was a snowball's chance in hell of his survival. He briefly wondered if Luigi had brawled with him yet before forcibly shoving the thought aside. He didn't care. _He did not care._ The weary scientist gave a long sigh.

"_He did make a good point, Snake,_" he yawned, breaking the soldier's train of thought. "_You should probably have a look round. Find out more about the other combatants and press them for information. Just press O on your… ha, no wait; this is the wrong format._"

"Get a grip, Otacon!" Snake growled in exasperation as he stepped into the hallway, pressing himself against the wall. For a genius scientist, Hal was really slow sometimes.

"_Sorry; what I meant to say was, talk to people. They don't seem hostile off the battlefield, so you should be able to talk freely with them._"

Closing the suite door carefully, Snake crept down the corridors, watching his surroundings carefully. Somehow he didn't quite believe that last part. After all, he had been brought here against his will, hadn't he?

On his way round the hotel, he had discovered that his taunt worked outside of battle. It had been awfully relaxing to shuffle down corridors in his cardboard box, such a familiar, comforting item. It was strange, but the longer he spent in the box, the better he felt. It was as though his psyche was restoring itself. And Otacon had been quiet; surely that, at least during that time, had been a relief. Reaching a large door at the end of a long corridor, he rose from the box to peek through the window. It looked like a large cafeteria, where there were a surprising amount of people gathered, making a lot of noise and mess. If he was going to get any information about this place… maybe this was the way to do it.

Gathering his thoughts, he pushed open the heavy swing door. A few people looked up from their trays. He recognised the Ice Climbers, who waved at him quite happily despite the events of their brawl. Ignoring their gesture, he stepped further into the room, very aware of each and every person there. A large blue hedgehog whom he certainly didn't like, a fox sitting with some sort of bird. However, upon seeing the grinning face of a familiar green-clad plumber, something within him snapped. There were those feelings again, floating through his head, and the exotic dance taunted him, the sensual movements of the not very slender plumber sending him into a rage. Had that bastard led him here with whatever mind-control gadgetry he was using? Had he sent Ganondorf round to goad him into coming out of his room? What was his game? What was he trying to do? Without even thinking, the second he reached Luigi, he grabbed him by the collar and lifting him into the air, a look of pure frustration on his face.

"What are you doing to me?" he demanded, shaking the terrified plumber like a dog shaking its prey. A collective gasp rose from the two dozen or so gathered in the cafeteria. His codec started beeping, likely Otacon trying to reason with him, but he barely noticed, too focused on Luigi. He had something, he was controlling him somehow, he knew it. "How are you controlling my mind?"


End file.
